Method for controlling artificial intelligence laundry treatment apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a clothes treating apparatus, the clothes treating apparatus comprising: an outer tub for receiving washing water; an inner tub rotatably disposed in the outer tub and receiving laundry; and a motor for rotating the inner tub. The method for controlling a clothes treating apparatus comprises: a dry clothes amount detection step for detecting the amount of laundry loaded in an inner tub; a water supply step for supplying washing water to an outer tub; a wash step for washing and rinsing the laundry; a wet clothes amount detection step for detecting the moisture content of the laundry after the wash step; and a spin step for removing washing water included in the laundry, wherein, in the spin step, the ending time of the spin step is determined by determining the clothing material of the laundry.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling an artificial laundry treating apparatus, and particularly, to a method for controlling an artificial laundry treating apparatus that may vary a dehydration operation based on a type of laundry.

BACKGROUND

Usually, a laundry treating apparatus may be divided into a laundry treating apparatus and a dryer based on a function of treating laundry. The laundry treating apparatus performs a washing operation of removing contaminants from the laundry using washing water, and the dryer performs a drying process of removing moisture contained in the laundry. Recently, a laundry treating apparatus having a drying function by integrating the laundry treating apparatus and the dryer has also been developed.

In one example, the laundry treating apparatus may be classified into a top loading type-laundry treating apparatus in which an inlet for inserting the laundry is defined in a top face of a cabinet and a front loading type-laundry treating apparatus in which the inlet for inserting the laundry is defined in a front face (or a side face) of the cabinet.

The top loading type-laundry treating apparatus includes a cabinet that forms an appearance of the apparatus, an inner tub and an outer tub disposed inside the cabinet. In this connection, in the top loading type-laundry treating apparatus, the inner tub and the outer tub are disposed perpendicular to the ground, and the inner tub rotates around a rotation axis in a direction perpendicular to the ground.

In addition, the laundry inlet through which the laundry may be inserted is defined in the top face of the cabinet, and a door that opens and closes the laundry inlet is disposed on the top face of the cabinet.

When the top loading type-laundry treating apparatus is subjected to a dehydration process, a rotation speed of the inner tub may exceed about 1000 rpm depending on a product. When the dehydration is performed by rotating the inner tub at a high speed, there are cases where the inner tub rotates at the high speed in a state in which the laundry inside the inner tub is not evenly arranged.

In other words, there is a case where the inner tub rotates at the high speed in a state in which the laundry in the inner tub is eccentrical. In this case, in the process of rotating the inner tub at the high speed, the inner tub may hit the outer tub and the cabinet because of the eccentricity of the laundry.

In addition, recently, clothes of various materials are on the market, and a user separates the laundry based on a type and a material of the laundry and independently washes laundry of similar materials.

In one example, in recent years, a size of an outdoor clothing market is also increasing rapidly. Usually, a fabric having a waterproof function is used for an outdoor clothing product. When washing such outdoor clothing, washing water may accumulate inside the waterproof fabric.

The washing water that has permeated into the outdoor clothing during the washing process must be discharged through a dehydration process. However, because of a waterproof function of the clothing, the washing water may remain inside the outdoor clothing during the dehydration process.

In other words, there are cases in which the outdoor clothing performs a function of a balloon and the washing water inside is not able to be discharged to the outside like a case in which water is stored in the balloon (hereinafter, the state in which the washing water is accumulated in the laundry will be referred to as a ‘water balloon phenomenon’).

In particular, in the case of rotating the inner tub that accommodates therein the laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon occurs at the high speed in the dehydration process, as the water balloon phenomenon is removed for an instant, excessive eccentricity of the laundry inside the inner tub may occur.

When the water balloon phenomenon is removed from the dehydration process as such, excessive vibration of the inner tub may occur by the eccentricity, which occurs as the water balloon phenomenon is removed, and the inner tub may collide with the outer tub by the vibration of the inner tub.

Particularly, even when the amount of eccentricity occurred during the dehydration process in which the inner tub is rotated at the high speed is small, an amount of impact of the inner tub and the outer tub may be increased by the inner tub rotating at the high speed. In addition, there is a risk that the door disposed on the top cover may be separated or the top cover may be separated from the cabinet by the amount of impact.

In one example, the outdoor product has been described as an example of the clothing in which the water balloon phenomenon occurs, but the water balloon phenomenon may occur in laundry with the waterproof function or general clothing depending on a washing condition.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure was devised to solve the above-described problems, and has a purpose to provide a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus that may determine a type of laundry based on the type or a material of the laundry and vary a washing process based on the determined laundry.

In addition, the present disclosure was devised to solve the above-described problems, and has a purpose to provide a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus that may determine the type of the laundry based on the type or the material of the laundry and vary a dehydration process based on the determined laundry.

In addition, the present disclosure was devised to solve the above-described problems, and has a purpose to provide a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus that may determine presence or absence of specific laundry in which a water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry to prevent eccentricity of an inner tub in advance.

In addition, the present disclosure was devised to solve the above-described problems, and has a purpose to provide a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus that may determine the presence or the absence of the specific laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry to reduce a time required for the washing process.

In addition, the present disclosure was devised to solve the above-described problems, and has a purpose to provide a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus that may determine the presence or the absence of the specific laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry to reduce a time required for the dehydration process.

It is preferable that a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus including an outer tub for accommodating washing water therein, an inner tub rotatably disposed in the outer tub and accommodating laundry therein, and a motor for rotating the inner tub for achieving the above purposes includes a dry laundry amount sensing operation of sensing an amount of laundry inserted into the inner tub, a water supply operation of supplying washing water to the outer tub, a washing operation of washing and rinsing the laundry, a wet laundry amount sensing operation of sensing a moisture content of the laundry after the washing operation, and a dehydration operation of removing the washing water contained in the laundry, and a termination time point of the dehydration operation is determined by determining a material of the laundry in the dehydration operation.

In this connection, it is preferable that the dehydration operation includes a laundry material sensing operation of sensing a material of specific laundry causing a water balloon phenomenon in the laundry during acceleration for reaching a dehydration speed of the laundry.

In addition, it is preferable that the laundry material sensing operation includes an operation of determining a water content percentage of the laundry based on a dry laundry amount sensed in the dry laundry amount sensing operation and a wet laundry amount sensed in the wet laundry amount sensing operation, and the material of the specific laundry causing the water balloon phenomenon in the laundry is sensed based on the water content percentage and a reference water content percentage of the dry laundry amount.

In addition, it is preferable that the laundry material sensing operation further includes a notification operation of notifying a user that the material of the specific laundry causing the water balloon phenomenon is sensed.

In addition, it is preferable that the notification operation terminates the dehydration operation when the specific laundry of the material causing the water balloon phenomenon is not removed.

In addition, it is preferable that the laundry material sensing operation increases a rotation speed of the inner tub to a dehydration speed to activate the dehydration operation when the material of the specific laundry causing the water balloon phenomenon is not sensed.

In this connection, it is preferable that the dehydration operation further includes a laundry material sensing operation of increasing a rotation speed of the inner tub to a dehydration speed and varying the termination time point of the dehydration operation based on the moisture content of the laundry after the rotation speed reaches the dehydration speed.

In one example, it is preferable that the laundry material sensing operation includes an operation of calculating a reference moisture content of the laundry through a dry laundry amount sensed in the dry laundry amount sensing operation and a wet laundry amount sensed in the wet laundry amount sensing operation, and an operation of sensing a residual moisture content of the laundry while the rotation speed of the inner tub is increased to the dehydration speed.

In addition, it is preferable that the operation of sensing the residual moisture content of the laundry increases the dehydration speed of the inner tub to a predetermined speed, then senses the residual moisture content of the laundry while maintaining the predetermined speed for a certain period of time, and then reduces the predetermined speed to the dehydration speed.

In addition, it is preferable that the operation of sensing the residual moisture content of the laundry is performed at least once while the dehydration speed of the inner tube is maintained.

In addition, it is preferable that the dehydration operation is terminated when a reference moisture content of the laundry is less than a residual moisture content, and the dehydration operation is maintained when a reference moisture content of the laundry is greater than a residual moisture content.

According to the method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure, there is an effect of determining the type of the laundry based on the type or the material of the laundry, and varying the washing process based on the determined laundry.

In addition, according to the method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure, there is an effect of determining the type of the laundry based on the type or the material of the laundry, and varying the dehydration process based on the determined laundry.

In addition, according to the method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure, there is an effect of preventing the eccentricity of the inner tub in advance by determining the presence or the absence of the specific laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry.

In addition, according to the method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure, there is an effect of reducing the time required for the washing process by determining the presence or the absence of the specific laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry.

In addition, according to the method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure, there is an effect of reducing the time required for the dehydration operation by determining the presence or the absence of the specific laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart briefly showing a control process of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a change in a rotation speed of an inner tub of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing first laundry material sensing of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing second laundry material sensing of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In describing the present disclosure, a name of each component to be defined are defined in consideration of a function thereof in the present disclosure. Therefore, it should not be understood as limiting the technical component of the present disclosure. In addition, each component to which each name is defined may be called a different name in the art.

Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to a following embodiment. A person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs may make various modifications and variations from such description, and such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

A laundry treating apparatus to be described below may be applied to all washing machines having a dehydration function. The laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure may be applied to both a top loading scheme in which an inlet for inserting laundry is defined in a top face of a cabinet and a front loading scheme in which the inlet for inserting the laundry is defined in a front face (or a side face) of the cabinet.

In the following, the laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure will be described based on a top locating type-laundry treating apparatus. However, the laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure may be applied to a front loading type-laundry treating apparatus, and may also be applied to a laundry treating apparatus having the dehydration function, such as a dehydrator having only the dehydration function, a dryer having the dehydration function, or the like.

First, a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawing. For convenience of description, same names and same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as conventional components. In addition, detailed descriptions of components that are the same as the conventional components will be omitted, and only portions related to the present disclosure will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, a laundry treating apparatus 100 according to the present disclosure includes a cabinet 110 that forms an appearance of the apparatus 100 and has an open top, a cabinet cover 111 disposed on the open top of the cabinet 110 and defining a laundry inlet through which laundry enters and exits, a door 114 that opens and closes the laundry inlet, an outer tub 120 that accommodates washing water therein, is suspended in the cabinet 110 by a support member 120 a, and is buffered by a damper 120 b, and an inner tub 150 that is disposed inside the outer tub 120, rotates around a vertical axis, and accommodates laundry therein.

A plurality of water holes (not shown) are defined in the inner tub 150 such that the washing water may circulate between the outer tub 120 and the inner tub 150, and an outer tub cover 123 in which a laundry inlet 122 is defined such that the laundry may enter and exit is disposed on a top face of the outer tub 120.

A pulsator 156 that generates a water current in the washing water is disposed on a bottom of the inner tub 150, and a motor 160 that generates a rotational force to rotate the inner tub 150 and/or the pulsator 156 is disposed below the outer tub 120.

A control panel 116 that receives a command from a user for overall operations of the laundry treating apparatus 100 is disposed on the cabinet cover 111. Inside the cabinet cover 111, a detergent box 118 in which detergent may be accommodated, and a detergent box housing 119 that accommodates therein the detergent box in an extendable manner, and defines a flow channel such that the washing water introduced from a water supply hose 174 is supplied into the inner tub 150 via the detergent box 118 are disposed. A distribution hole (not shown) may be defined in the detergent box housing 119 such that the washing water introduced from the water supply hose 174 is distributed to the detergent box 118. A drain hose 184 and a drain pump 182 drain the washing water from the outer tub 120.

The motor 160 selectively rotates the inner tub 150 or the pulsator 156. The motor 160 includes a stator 162 on which a coil is wound, and a rotor 164 that rotates by generating an electromagnetic interaction with the coil. The stator 162 includes multiple wound coils and has an internal resistance. The rotor 164 includes multiple magnets that generates the electromagnetic interaction with the coils. The rotor 164 rotates by the electromagnetic interaction between the coil and the magnet.

The motor 160 includes a hall sensor 166 that measures a location of the rotor 164. The hall sensor 166 generates on/off signals by the rotation of the rotor 164. A rotation speed and the location of the rotor 164 are estimated through the on/off signals generated by the hall sensor 166.

Hereinafter, a control process of the laundry treating apparatus 100 according to the present disclosure as described above will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart briefly showing a control process of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the laundry treating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110) of sensing an amount of laundry to set a water supply amount of washing water, a water supply operation (S120) of supplying the washing water to the laundry based on the set water supply amount, a washing operation (S130) of washing contaminated laundry using detergent or the like, a rinsing operation (S140) of removing the detergent or the like from the laundry for which the washing operation (S130) has been completed, a wet laundry amount sensing operation (S150) of sensing an amount of laundry containing the washing water to set a reference dehydration time of the laundry for which the rinsing operation (S140) has been completed, and a dehydration operation (S200) of removing moisture from the laundry based on the set reference dehydration time.

The dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110) may be largely classified into a method for sensing the amount of laundry using a magnitude of inertia of the motor and a method for sensing the amount of laundry using an electrode sensor.

In this connection, the method of using the magnitude of inertia uses characteristics in which the larger the amount of laundry in the inner tub 150, the greater the inertia, and the larger the inertia, the more power or current and time required to accelerate or decelerate the inner tub 150.

As another example, an amount of current required to accelerate the inner tub 150 with a constant acceleration may be measured. In this connection, the amount of current may be measured for a certain period of time. Characteristics in which an amount of power consumed to accelerate the inner tub 150 with the constant acceleration is large when the amount of laundry in the inner tub 150 is large and the amount of power consumed is small when the amount of laundry is small may be used.

Because various embodiments of the dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110) are possible, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In one example, the water supply operation (S120) receives the washing water from an external water source (not shown) through a water supply valve 172 and a water supply hose 174 and supplies the washing water to the outer tub 120.

In addition, the washing operation (S130) is a process of removing contaminants from the contaminated laundry using the washing water. Specifically, the washing operation (S130) may include a washing process and a drainage process.

In this connection, the washing process is an operation of removing the contaminants from the laundry by rotating the inner tub 150 or the pulsator 156. In the washing process, the inner tub 150 or the pulsator 156 may separate the contaminants from the laundry while rotating in a forward or reverse direction. In addition, in the washing process, the detergent or the like may be supplied into the inner tub through the detergent box 118. The detergent or the like functions to separate the contaminants from the laundry.

In one example, when the washing process is terminated, the drainage process of discharging the washing water to the outside of the laundry treating apparatus 100 is performed. The drainage process may drain the washing water in the outer tub to the outside using the drain pump 182.

In one example, the rinsing operation (S140) is a process of removing the detergent, the washing water, and the contaminants from the laundry for which the washing operation (S130) has been completed. Specifically, the rinsing operation (S140) may include a separate water supply process, a rinsing process, and a drainage process.

In this connection, the water supply process receives the washing water from the water source and supplies the washing water to the outer tub 120. In addition, the rinsing process rotates the inner tub 150 and the pulsator 156 to separate the detergent, the washing water, and the contaminants from the laundry by centrifugal force. In the rinsing process, the inner tub 150 may separate the detergent, the laundry, and the contaminants from the laundry while rotating in the forward or reverse direction.

In addition, in the rinsing operation (S140), a softener or the like may be supplied into the outer tub 120 through the detergent box 118. When the rinsing process is terminated, the drainage process of draining the washing water to the outside of the laundry treating apparatus 100 is performed. The drainage process may drain the washing water in the outer tub to the outside using the drain pump 182 and the drain hose 184.

In this connection, the above-described water supply operation (S120), washing operation (S130), and rinsing operation (S140) may be repeatedly performed at least once depending on the amount of laundry or a degree of contamination of the laundry.

In one example, the wet laundry amount sensing operation (S150) calculates a reference dehydration time that may be consumed in the dehydration operation (S200) by determining the amounts of laundry for which the rinsing operation (S140) has been completed and washing water contained in the laundry.

In this connection, the reference dehydration time is a time for dehydrating wet laundry without additional conditions based on the amount of wet laundry determined in the wet laundry amount sensing operation, which may substantially correspond to a maximum dehydration time.

Such reference dehydration time may increase or decrease based on results of a first laundry material sensing operation (S210) and a second laundry material sensing operation (S220) included in the dehydration operation S200 to be described later.

In one example, the dehydration operation (S200) is a process of removing the moisture from the laundry. The dehydration operation (S200) rotates the inner tub 150 at the high speed to remove the moisture from the laundry using the centrifugal force.

In this connection, the dehydration operation (S200) may include the first laundry material determination operation (S210) and the second laundry material determination operation (S220) for determining the material of the laundry.

In one example, the first laundry material determination operation (S210) determines a water content percentage of the laundry when increasing a rotation speed of the inner tub 150 to start the dehydration operation (S200), and determines whether specific laundry such as tarpaulin that may cause the water balloon phenomenon is included in the laundry based on the water content percentage of the laundry.

The second laundry material determination operation (S220) starts the dehydration operation (S200), then increases the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 to a normal dehydration speed, then temporarily increases the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 to a speed higher than the normal dehydration speed, and then reduces the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 to determine the water content percentage of the laundry. In this connection, the dehydration time may be varied by determining the material of the laundry based on the water content percentage determined in the laundry.

Hereinafter, the first laundry material determination operation (S210) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing first laundry material sensing of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first laundry material determination operation (S210) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is to sense laundry made of a material that may cause a ‘water balloon phenomenon’ and notify the user of the same, or terminate the dehydration operation (S200) when the laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur is not removed.

First, the first laundry material determination operation (S210) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure calculates the water content percentage to determine the material of the laundry that causes the water balloon phenomenon based on the water content percentage of the laundry (S211).

In other words, laundry made of a material with a high water content percentage means laundry that may contain a relatively large amount of moisture. High water content percentage laundry may be laundry made of cotton fabrics such as towels. Conversely, in a case of a low water content percentage laundry means laundry that may contain a relatively small amount of moisture.

Thereafter, the calculated water content percentage is compared with a reference water content percentage to determine whether the laundry is the low water content percentage laundry with the low water content percentage (S212).

In one example, when the laundry is determined to be the low water content percentage laundry with the water content percentage lower than the reference water content percentage in the water content percentage determination operation (S212), in order to perform the dehydration operation (S200), the rotation speed of the inner tub is increased (S214).

In addition, when the laundry is determined to be the high water content percentage laundry with the water content percentage higher than the reference water content percentage in the water content percentage determination operation (S212), a first laundry material removal operation (S213) is performed.

When the laundry includes the specific laundry that causes the water balloon phenomenon, the water content percentage will be measured high by a water balloon formed inside the laundry. When the laundry does not include the specific laundry that causes the water balloon phenomenon, the water content percentage will be measured low.

Therefore, whether the laundry includes the specific laundry that causes the water balloon phenomenon may be determined using the water content percentage.

In one example, the water content percentage used as a determination criterion in the water content percentage determination operation (S212) means a degree to which the laundry may retain the moisture. That is, the higher the water content percentage, the higher the ability of laundry to absorb and retain the moisture, and the lower the water content percentage, the lower the ability to absorb and retain the moisture.

In one example, the water content percentage may be defined as a ratio of an initial amount of laundry and an amount of laundry to be dehydrated. In this connection, the initial amount of laundry means a dry laundry amount without the moisture, and is calculated in the above-described dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110).

In addition, the amount of laundry to be dehydrated means an amount of supersaturated laundry that has been sufficiently wetted in the washing water after the drainage process of the rinsing operation (S140) is completed, and is calculated in the above-described wet laundry amount sensing operation (S150).

That is, when the amount of laundry to be dehydrated is greater than the initial amount of laundry, the water content percentage is high. In addition, when the amount of laundry to be dehydrated is smaller than the dry laundry amount, the water content percentage is low. In the case of the laundry such as the towels, the water content percentage may be high. Alternatively, in a case of underwear made of cotton, the water content percentage may be high.

In the above description, the water content percentage is defined as the ratio of the initial amount of laundry and the amount of laundry to be dehydrated, but any numerical value capable of measuring the degree to which the laundry may contain the moisture may be used.

Therefore, the case in which the water content percentage is lower than the reference water content percentage in the water content percentage determination operation (S212) may be determined as a case in which that laundry does not include the specific laundry made of the material that causes the water balloon phenomenon. In this case, the rotation speed of the inner tub is increased in order to proceed with the dehydration operation (S214).

In addition, the case in which the water content percentage is higher than the reference water content percentage in the water content percentage determination operation (S212) may be determined as a case in which that laundry includes the specific laundry made of the material that causes the water balloon phenomenon.

In this case, an error message may be transmitted to the user through the control panel 116. When the laundry made of the material that causes the water balloon phenomenon is not removed, the dehydration operation (S200) may be terminated (S215).

Hereinafter, the second laundry material determination operation (S220) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing second laundry material sensing of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the second laundry material determination operation (S220) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is to vary a termination time of the dehydration operation based on a residual moisture content of the laundry after the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 is increased to a dehydration speed of the dehydration operation (S200) by passing the first laundry material sensing operation (S210).

Such second laundry material sensing operation (S220) may be performed at least once while the dehydration speed of the dehydration operation (S200) is maintained. Accordingly, a duration of the dehydration speed of the dehydration operation (S200) may be varied.

First, based on the dry laundry amount sensed in the dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110) and the wet laundry amount sensed in the wet laundry amount sensing operation (S150), the second laundry material sensing operation (S220) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure calculates a reference moisture content of the laundry (S221). In this connection, the reference moisture content may be calculated in a separate table where the reference moisture content based on the dry laundry amount and the wet laundry amount is defined.

Thereafter, after entering the dehydration operation (S200), the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 is increased to the dehydration speed of about 840 rpm for dehydration of the laundry (S214). In this connection, the dehydration speed varies based on the dry laundry amount sensed in the dry laundry amount sensing operation or the wet laundry amount sensed in the wet laundry amount sensing operation. In addition, the dehydration time is also varied based on the dry laundry amount or the wet laundry amount.

Thereafter, as the dehydration operation (S200) proceeds, the residual moisture content is calculated by sensing the amount of laundry in the inner tub after the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 is increased to the dehydration speed (S223). In this connection, the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 that has reached the dehydration speed has a relatively high rpm. Thus, it is very difficult to sense the amount of laundry using the hall sensor of the motor 160 or the change in the current value of the motor 160.

Accordingly, the amount of laundry inside the inner tub 150 rotated at the dehydration speed may calculate a laundry amount constant Jm using a torque T of the motor 160 that rotates the inner tub 150, a coefficient of friction B of the motor 160, and a rotation speed Wm of the motor 160, and calculate the amount of laundry in the inner tub and the residual moisture content based on the calculated laundry amount constant Jm.

A formula for calculating the laundry amount constant Jm described above is as follows.

$\begin{matrix} {{Jm} = \frac{T_{e -}{B \cdot \omega_{m}}}{\frac{d\;\omega_{m}}{dt}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack \end{matrix}$

In this connection, the residual moisture content may be calculated through a separate table based on the dry laundry amount calculated in the dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110) and the amount of laundry in the inner tub rotating at the dehydration speed in the dehydration operation (S200).

In other words, based on the calculated laundry amount constant Jm, laundry (e.g., functional clothing, cotton clothing, jeans/fall jumpers, winter jumpers/quilts, and the like) made of materials corresponding to the laundry amount constant and the residual moisture contents are defined to correspond to a washing course and the amount of laundry based on the material of the laundry. The residual moisture content in consideration of the laundry material may be calculated based on the calculated laundry amount constant Jm.

In one example, in order to sense the amount of laundry in the inner tub 150 whose rotation speed has reached the dehydration speed and the residual moisture content, a regular dehydration speed may be maintained. However, the residual moisture content may be calculated by temporarily increasing the rotation speed of the inner tub 150, then maintaining the rotation speed for a certain period of time, and then reducing the rotation speed.

In the case of [Formula 1] described above, as the rotation speed of the motor 160 increases, the value of the laundry amount constant may increase. Thus, the laundry amount constant Jm may be calculated by temporarily increasing the rotation speed of the motor 160 that temporarily rotates the inner tub 150 to be higher than the dehydration speed.

That is, an inner tub accelerating/decelerating operation (S222) of temporarily increasing the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 during the operation at the dehydration speed, maintaining the rotation speed for the certain period of time, and then reducing the rotation speed in which the rotation speed of the inner tub 150 is maintained for the certain period of time in the state of being higher than the dehydration speed is further performed to calculate a laundry amount constant Jm of when the rotation speed of the inner tub is maintained for the certain period of time in the state of being increased to be higher than the dehydration speed. The residual moisture content may be calculated from the table based on the calculated laundry amount constant.

Thereafter, the reference moisture content calculated in the reference moisture content calculation operation (S221) by the dry laundry amount sensed in the dry laundry amount sensing operation (S110) and the wet laundry amount sensed in the wet laundry amount sensing operation (S150) is compared with the residual moisture content calculated in the state in which the rotation speed has reached the dehydration speed to determine termination and progress of the dehydration operation (S224).

That is, when the residual moisture content calculated from the dehydration speed is less than the reference moisture content, there is a high possibility that the dehydration will not proceed any more in the laundry dehydrated in the inner tub 150. Thus, when the residual moisture content calculated from the dehydration speed is less than the reference moisture content, the dehydration operation may be terminated (S225).

In addition, a case in which the residual moisture content calculated from the dehydration speed is greater than the reference moisture content means that there is moisture that may be dehydrated remaining in the laundry that is being dehydrated in the inner tub 150, so that a current dehydration speed is maintained.

The operation (S222) of accelerating and then decelerating the inner tub, the deceleration operation (S222), the residual moisture content calculation operation (S223), and the operation (S224) of comparing the reference moisture content with the residual moisture content described above are repeatedly performed. The dehydration operation may be terminated based on the comparison result of the operation (S224) of comparing the reference moisture content with the residual moisture content, or the dehydration operation may be terminated as the set dehydration time is terminated.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, the type of the laundry may be determined based on the type or the material of the laundry, and the washing process may be varied based on the determined laundry.

In addition, the type of the laundry may be determined based on the type or the material of the laundry, and the dehydration process may be varied based on the determined laundry.

In addition, the eccentricity of the inner tub may be prevented in advance and the time required for the washing and dehydration operations may be reduced by determining the presence or the absence of the specific laundry in which the water balloon phenomenon may occur included in the laundry.

As described above, although the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail, one with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs will be able to implement the present disclosure in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure defined in the appended claims. Therefore, future changes of the embodiments of the present disclosure will not be able to depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

INDUSTRIAL AVAILABILITY

Included in the detailed description. 

1. A method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus including an outer tub configured to receive washing water therein, an inner tub rotatably disposed in the outer tub and configured to receive laundry, and a motor configured to rotate the inner tub, the method comprising: performing a dry laundry amount sensing operation that includes determining an amount of laundry received in the inner tub; supplying washing water to the outer tub; washing and rinsing the laundry; performing a wet laundry amount sensing operation that includes determining a moisture content of the laundry; and performing a dehydration operation that includes removing the washing water from the laundry, wherein the dehydration operation terminates at a termination time, the termination time being determined based on a material of the laundry that is determined in the dehydration operation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dehydration operation includes a laundry material sensing operation that includes sensing a material of specific laundry accumulating the washing water in the laundry.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the laundry material sensing operation is performed based on a rotation speed of the inner tub being increased to a dehydration speed in the dehydration operation.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the laundry material sensing operation includes determining, based on the determined amount of laundry and the determined moisture content of the laundry, a water content percentage of the laundry.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the water content percentage is based on a reference water content percentage of the amount of laundry.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a presence of the specific laundry that accumulates the washing water among the laundry is determined through determining the water content percentage.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the laundry material sensing operation further includes a notification operation that includes notifying a user, based on the material of the specific laundry accumulating the washing water being sensed in the laundry, that the material of the specific laundry accumulating the washing water is sensed.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the notification operation includes terminating, based on the specific laundry that accumulates the washing water remaining in the inner tub, the dehydration operation.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the laundry material sensing operation includes increasing, based on the material of the specific laundry accumulating the washing water not being sensed among the laundry, a rotation speed of the inner tub to a dehydration speed to activate the dehydration operation.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the dehydration operation further includes a laundry material sensing operation that includes (i) increasing a rotation speed of the inner tub to a dehydration speed and (ii) varying, based on the moisture content of the laundry after the rotation speed reaches the dehydration speed, the termination time of the dehydration operation.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the laundry material sensing operation includes calculating a reference moisture content of the laundry based on a dry laundry amount sensed in the dry laundry amount sensing operation and a wet laundry amount sensed in the wet laundry amount sensing operation.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein calculating the reference moisture content of the laundry includes sensing a residual moisture content of the laundry while the rotation speed of the inner tub is increased to the dehydration speed.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein sensing the residual moisture content of the laundry is performed after increasing the dehydration speed of the inner tub to a predetermined speed.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein sensing the residual moisture content of the laundry includes (i) increasing the dehydration speed of the inner tub to a predetermined speed, (ii) sensing the residual moisture content of the laundry while maintaining the predetermined speed for a certain period of time, and (iii) reducing the predetermined speed to the dehydration speed.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein sensing the residual moisture content of the laundry is performed at least once while the dehydration speed of the inner tub is maintained.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the dehydration operation is terminated based on a reference moisture content of the laundry being less than a residual moisture content.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein the dehydration operation is maintained based on a reference moisture content of the laundry being greater than or equal to a residual moisture content.
 18. A laundry treating apparatus comprising: an outer tub configured to receive washing water therein; an inner tub rotatably disposed in the outer tub and configured to receive laundry; a motor configured to rotate the inner tub; a controller configured to: perform a dry laundry amount sensing operation that includes determining an amount of laundry received in the inner tub; supply washing water to the outer tub; wash and rinse the laundry; perform a wet laundry amount sensing operation that includes determining a moisture content of the laundry; and perform a dehydration operation that includes removing the washing water from the laundry, wherein the dehydration operation terminates at a termination time, the termination time being determined based on a material of the laundry that is determined in the dehydration operation.
 19. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 18, wherein the dehydration operation includes a laundry material sensing operation that includes sensing a material of specific laundry accumulating the washing water among the laundry.
 20. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the laundry material sensing operation includes determining, based on the determined amount of laundry and the determined moisture content of the laundry, a water content percentage of the laundry, and determining the water content percentage is based on a reference water content percentage of the amount of laundry. 